The first 10 issues of NMSD had no theme other than general autobiographical stories. Issue 11's theme was "Childhood Stories - Age 11 and under". Issue 12's theme was After Midnight - Late Night Tales". Issue 13's theme (the current issue) is Lucky/Unlucky stories.

These zines have appeared in the following museum shows: "Dark Matter" at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 2004; "Art of Zines" at the San Jose Museum of Art, 2004; "Dear Diary: The Autobiographical Comic Book" at the Athens Institute of Contemporary Art, 2006. The Small Diary zines have ridden aboard the Mobilivre traveling bookmobile. They appear in several library collections including ones in Denver, Seattle and Utah among others.
Widely praised for excellent layout and design, the Small Diary collection has been well received by reviewers and readers the world over. NMSD and MSD have appeared on the Favorite Zine list of the now defunct Zine Guide publication. The books have been sold in stores such as Atomic Books, Quimby's and Tower Records as well as through several distros.